Bad Lad a Kino Film Festival hit!

Booth · Jun 6, 2005

Diary of a Bad Lad – Kino Festival Preview Screening 26 Feb 05

Transcripts – Introducing the film

Mat Archer (Director of North West Producers and Directors)

I was first introduced to the concept of ‘Diary of a Bad Lad’ when a complaint was made about Pleased Sheep Productions, and the film, that it was just an excuse for violence and the people doing it were gangsters making violence (and so not the sort of people who should be members of NWPD – ed.). So we have to follow up on all complaints and a couple of our senior members did, Chris Bernard was one; and we were invited by Michael and Jon to a rough cut screening of it. And as you can see when you look at Michael, little cherub that he is, that…yes? A real gangster? So we sat down and watched the film and the complaint was totally unfounded, it was a real miscommunication.

And what we saw was what I believe personally, and not just as director of NWPD, but myself as a writer and development producer, is a good example of what can be achieved for not a lot of money.

Michael and Jon when they set out to make the film what? Three, four years ago? (four – Michael off) They set out to make a film that would look good on screen.

Now when we, the audience, watch a movie we don’t care how much the film cost, or how long it took to make; we care about what we’re watching. And this is the philosophy that Michael and Jon put into the film. They spent a year in post-production, cleaning the sound, colourizing, just making it the best it could be. That is why I applaud their production techniques. It wasn’t a case of shoot it, get it in the can, edit it and get it out there. It was a case of very controlled steps, of how to maximise and make the best possible film with the resources they had.

2. Bruno Coppola (Filmmaker) ~ download this as an MP3

I just wanted to add a user’s point of view to this because when I came to Manchester on Sunday night I was at John Wojowski’s house and the minute he sat me down he said, “Watch this!” and stuck on ‘Bad Lad’.

So I said, “Oh, what is it?”

“It’s like, err, a low-budget British gangster movie.”

“Yeah, err well, err, OK.” I said, and boy was I wrong, it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in this or any other festival. It’s a superb film completely regardless of how much money was spent on it. The performances are outstanding, and it’s made with a director’s style which is completely gripping from beginning to end – I was blown away. I wanted to watch it again, and that’s why I’m here now.

So just to single out a few things: the way it was shot did not feel in any way like a small picture. It didn’t have anything to be embarrassed about when you put it up against something like ‘Layer Cake’ which is in cinemas now and cost 150 times as much money. And I would go on to say that the performances are potentially even better – and I particularly want to just single out Joe O’Byrne who made a big impression on me and I know you’ll enjoy his performance.

So I’ll give you the guys, but I just wanted to tell you how much I loved it.

After the screening

1. Steve Balshaw (Festival Programmer)

I thought it was great. It’s a little rough and ready but the script is magnificent – it’s really tightly written, it’s very interesting the way it builds, it’s funny, and when it gets dark it gets really, really dark indeed. It really sustained me. It made a virtue out of being made on a very low budget, and a documentary film style is a very good way of doing that. I liked it a lot.

Q: Did you think it was different being shown in front of an audence?

Of course. I mean it’s a local audience and they’re going to be very keen. Obviously a lot of the cast and crew were down and that always gets a great vibe in the room. But I think it’d play well to any audience. I mean, the thing is to get people to look at it and they’d go, ok, it’s a little rough round the edges compared with slick Hollywood product; but if they run with it, if they get involved with the characters – and I think they get involved very quickly because it’s very well written and all the characters are very well worked out.

I think it’s a better exploration of complicity than ‘Man Bites Dog’, which they mention in the beginning, because it’s much more plausible with much more complexity to the writing so that you see the characters gradually sliding into where they’re going to go. It’s very good indeed.

2. Bruno Coppola (extract)

It’s one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s even better second time around. Seeing it on the big screen it seemed even more sophisticated and even better acted. It looked good and it moves with real pace.

3. Mat Archer

I fully support ‘Diary of a Bad Lad’, not just because I know the filmmakers and I know the passion and energy they’ve put into making it, but because it’s a good film.

I enjoyed watching it. That’s the second time that I’ve seen it and I loved it. I picked up on one or two one liners that I’d missed first time, and I laughed out loud. It’s just one of those films…it gives you a sense of foreboding, you know where it’s going, how it’s going to end up. There’s certain scenes and you’re in there with it and you feel uncomfortable, and then there’s the dark side of it and the humour and it’s a fantastic movie – it’s got all the ups and downs, the peaks, it’s a good film and it’s entertaining, it just works.

Booth · Jun 6, 2005

(cont'd)

Some online reactions up first. Filmmaker Chase Johnston Lynch added to his website:

I also want to say, I was blown away by the full length preview cut of "Diary of a Bad Lad" by Michael Booth and Jon Williams. "I want Donna Murphy in my next movie"!?! FANTASTIC FILM! Gripping! compelling! Blair Witch meets Man Bites Dog! And lastly, Big ups to Bruno Coppola for making an appearance and we will be talking!

Actor Tim Paley wrote on his home page:

Something that Bad Lad actor Tim Paley wrote on his website after seeing Bad Lad shown at Kino:Yesterday saw the first screening of the feature Diary of a Bad Lad at the AMC, Manchester. Wow... This was the first time I'd seen the film in full and it was impressive. Although still not the final cut, it was almost there. It was far funnier than I imagined, it was also more graphic than I thought it would be, but having said that it added to film. Afterwards, there was a buzz that I'd never felt before. There were some crews outside, don't know where from, but they were clambering to get to anyone involved in the film, I didn't see them later after other films had been shown. Everyone involved was over the moon with the response, and can't wait for the next one. Mike and Jon are now lookingto get a screening in London, and let them see what the North can do, again.

Tim Paley ~ Frank, Diary of a Bad Lad

More reactions to the movie soon.

Also...

A message to Raindance Film Festival director/founder Elliot Grove from Diary of a Bad Lad producer Jonathan Williams, sent shortly after the Kino Fest preview showing:

Hi Elliot

Now a long time ago you said you'd be interested in a producer's diary of taking Bad Lad to market - so here goes:

Diary of a Bad Lad is a film about a frustrated filmmaker's attempts to make a documentary about a local businessman who he believes is involved in property rackets, prostitution, pornography and the importation of large quantities of recreational drugs. It took four years to make and cost £3,500 cash. It has been made completely independently of any state film funding.

Here's part one of Jon Williams' - the writer/producer - diary of taking Bad Lad to market:

Diary of a Bad Lad (93mins) had a preview screening at Manchester's Kino Film Festival on Saturday (26 Feb) at 12 noon. We didn't submit it (and the mix is about 95%, although it is 5.1). John Wojowski got hold of a copy a couple of weeks before the festival and he was so amazed by it that he created a slot for it at the last minute. He also couldn't stop himself from showing it to people round at his house saying, the moment they walked in the door, "Hey! sit down, you've got to watch this."

One of those people was Bruno Coppola who insisted on introucing it at the screening saying that it was one of the best films that he'd seen at any festival in a long time (we have this and many other comments on DV so it's not bulsh..), with any amazing script, a directorial style which drives the film along, and acting which is simply excellent.

We started getting a bit worried, I mean we made it on £3,500 cash and about 4 years of love's labout and he was really bigging us up. Would the film survive the hype? Of course it would - dirty great ovation at the end, and we had to get the cast out in front for curtain calls. Two hours later people were still talking about it in the foyer.

Steve Balshaw, the Programme Manager, said "It's got all those references in it to films like Man Bites Dog, but it knocks the spots of all of them. This has really raised the bar."

OK, now I may sound as if I'm getting carried away, but I'm not. The film exists on DV. With a top quality transfer it'd look as good as 28 Days Later. But it'd cost. And, in conventional terms what we have to offer a distributor has no stars. What it does have is that you show it to an audience and what they get is something which is hilarious...and harrowing...and totally unique. It's the film that sells the film, and the film has to create the buzz.

And that means getting the people in London to catch up with it. Kino's director, John Wojowski offers to set up a London preview screening for us, but he says we need to budget for a £1,000 spend on publicity and hospitality. That's almost a third of what the film cost! So Monday afternoon - it would have been morning but we were discussing the film at the festival party till 3am - we take the dv of Bruno's introduction and of people's comments after the screening and we show it to Margot Grimshaw. Margot's the dame of Blackburn. I don't know her age and I'm too much of a gentle to tell you if I did, but she's self made and let us shoot a scene in one of her niteclubs, and smoothed the way with quite a few people. She's also on TV a lot, even if it's mosstly day-time, having been on Richard and Judy with Paul Whitehouse last week. "I've got copies of all these photographs of me and Paul." she says, "And he said he wanted copies but I don't know where to send them."

"Don't worry," says Bad Lad director Michael Booth, "I'll find out who his agent is."

"Right," she says, "I'll pop a note in about the film and I'll also finance this preview. And the BBC at the moment are wanting to do something on me at work, so I'll tell them that this is the story they can follow." Brilliant!

Now we've got to get the Cannes campaign rolling - and the deadline's in less that two weeks!

Best

Jon Williams

writer/producer

Diary of a Bad Lad

Bad Lad a Kino Film Festival hit!

Booth

Chief Bar Steward

Booth

Chief Bar Steward